^be  fIDoravian  Cbuvcb. 


THE  MORAVIAN  CHURCH. 


A  TREATISE  GIVING  INFORMATION  IN  REGARD 
TO  THE  HISTORY,  DOCTRINE,  GOVERNMENT, 
DISCIPLINE,  STRENGTH  AND  GENERAL 
CHARACTER  OF  THE  MORAVIAN 
CHURCH,  IN  A  BRIEF  AND 
CONCISE  FORM, 


The  Rev.  W.  H.  Romig, 

Pastor  of  the  First  Moravian  Congreg'ation, 


UHRICHSVILLE,  OHIO. 


t 


The 


Moravian  Church. 


OUR  MOTTO  : 

IN  ESSENTIALS,  UNITY  j  IN  NON-ESSENTIALS,  LIBERTY  ; 
IN  ALL  THINGS,  CHARITY. 


The  purpose  of  this  pamphlet  is  to  give  information  in' 
regard  to  the  Moravian  Church  to  those  not  fully 
acquainted  with  it,  to  answer  some  questions  often 
asked,  and  to  remove,  as  far  as  possible,  any  prejudice 
that  may  exist,  by  better  information.  It  is  not  possible, 
however,  in  so  small  a  pamphlet,  to  give  more  than  a  brief 
sketch  of  leading  features  of  the  Church,  in  an  informal 
and  unofficial  manner. 

THB  nam:^. 

The  Church  is  usually  known  in  this  country,  by  the 
name  of  Moravian,  or  Moravian  Episcopal.  It  was  first 
given  this  name  by  the  Germans,  because  many  of  the 
members  of  the  first  church  in  Germany  came  from  the 
Province  of  Moravia.  It  was  afterwards  adopted  as  one  of 
the  names  of  the  Church.  The  ancient  name,  however^ 
was  the  Unitas  Fratrum,  a  Latin  name,  usually  translated. 
The  United  Brethren,  or.  The  Brethren’s  Unity.  This  has 
led  to  some  confusion,  since  there  is  another  well-known 
church  usually  called  The  United  Brethren.  This  church 
is  entirely  distinct  from  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren, 
or  Unitas  Fratrum,  which  had  borne  this  title  more  than 
three  centuries  before  the  excellent  modern  Church  of 
‘^The  United  Brethren  in  Christ”  came  into  existence. 

Our  usual  name,  however,  in  this  country  is  The  Mora¬ 
vian  Church,  so  there  need  be  no  confusion.  The  ancient 
name,  however,  is  the  more  correct  title  of  the  Church, 
and  more  accurately  expresses  its  fraternal  character. 


4 


HISTORY. 

Many  books  have  been  written  on  different  parts  of  our 
history,  but  here  only  a  brief  sketch  can  be  given.  The 
movement  that  resulted  in  the  founding  of  the  Moravian 
Church,  began  with  John  Hus,  the  noble  Bohemian  re¬ 
former  and  martyr.  The  life  of  Hus  is  a  part  of  universal 
history  as  truly  as  is  the  life  of  Martin  Luther.  Born  in 
Bohemia,  July  6th,  1369,  he  received  a  very  liberal  educa¬ 
tion.  At  the  age  of  thirty-three  he  had  become  Rector  of 
the  University  of  Prague,  the  greatest  university  of  the 
world  in  his  day.  From  this  point  of  advantage  he  began 
to  preach  Christ  crucified  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  in  the 
language  of  the  people,  to  exalt  the  Word  of  God  as  hav¬ 
ing  superior  authority  to  the  word  of  the  Pope,  and  to  at¬ 
tack  the  sins  of  the  priests.  Hus  was  a  great  preacher, 
who  soon  had  for  his  audience  the  larger  part  of  the  Bohe¬ 
mian  nation.  He  early  came  into  conflict  with  Rome. 
He  was  burned  at  the  stake  at  Constance,  Switzerland,  by 
order  of  the  Ecumenical  Council  of  Constance,  July  6th, 
1415.  Jerome  of  Prague,  a  great  orator,  a  learned  scholar 
and  a  noble  knight  suffered  the  same  fate.  After  this  fol¬ 
lowed  the  terrible  Hussite  wars,  the  struggles  of  the  Bohe¬ 
mian  people  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Rome  and  attain 
religious  liberty.  When  these  wars  had  subsided,  there 
arose  in  1457,  men  of  God  who  cherished  the  pure  and 
peaceful  doctrines  of  John  Hus.  These  united  together, 
and  during  the  eight  succeeding  years  organized  the 

UNITAS  FRATRUM. 

Thus  the  Moravian  Church  dates  its  origin  from  March 
I  St,  1457,  and  more  than  four  centuries  of  its  labors  have 
passed  into  history.  The  Church  grew  and  flourished.  By 
1517,  the  date  of  the  beginning  of  the  Lutheran  Reforma¬ 
tion,  it  numbered  nearly  200,000  members.  At  a  later 
period  it  had  spread  from  Bohemia  to  Moravia,  Poland, 
and  Hungary,  and  embraced  within  its  fold  a  very  large 
and  leading  part  of  the  Bohemian  nation,  when  Bohemia 
was  in  its  glory,  as  one  of  the  leading  nations  of  Europe. 
Then  followed  the  long  struggle  between  Romanism  and 


5 


the  Protestant  faith.  In  the  compromise  which  followed 
the  Thirty  Years’  War,  the  Church  of  the  Brethren  was 
delivered  over  to  the  mercy  of  the  Papacy  and  the  Jesuits. 
Sixteen  of  the  leading  men  of  the  Church  perished  on  the 
scaffold  in  one  day.  A  reign  of  blood  and  terror  followed. 
The  worship  of  God  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Brethren 
was  made  illegal ;  our  ministers  were  imprisoned,  banished, 
or  put  to  death ;  our  churches  were  confiscated  ;  our  books, 
and  particularly  the  Bibles  in  the  language  of  the  people, 
were  searched  out  and  burned,  and  every  effort  was  made 
to  uproot  and  destroy  every  vestige  of  the  power  of  the 
Church  in  the  land  of  her  birth  and  prestige.  So  great 
was  the  persecution,  that  the  apparently  reliable  statement 
is  made,  that  the  population  of  Bohemia  was  decreased 
more  than  one-half.  The  Church  was  crushed  out.  Jesuit¬ 
ism  and  cruel  bigotry  prevailed.  Religious  liberty  ceased 
in  the  land.  Bohemia  has  never  recovered  from  the  blow. 
For  nearly  sixty  years  the  Church  existed  in  exile,  or  as 
men  worshiped  in  secret  places.  But  even  in  exile,  in 
Poland  and  Hungary,  the  Church  was  not  free  from  perse¬ 
cution.  The  result  was  disastrous.  Yet  even  then,  Amos 
Comenius,  a  Bishop  of  the  Church,  had  a  w^onderful  career 
of  usefulness,  as  a  preacher,  writer,  and  educator.  To  him 
belongs  the  honor  largely,  of  inaugurating  the  modern  sys¬ 
tem  of  encyclopedias,  and,  with  others,  the  kindergarten 
system  of  education.  He  was  a  powerful  advocate  of  the 
education  of  the  common  people,  thus  aiding  largely  in 
establishing  modern  popular  education.  He  reformed  the 
schools  of  Sweden,  and  was  invited  by  the  English  Gov¬ 
ernment  to  do  a  similar  work  in  England,  but  was  hindered 
by  political  complications.  His  vast  learning  and  ability 
affected  the  cause  of  education  in  all  lands  for  good.  He 
is  honored  by  educated  men  everywhere,  as  one  of  the  great 
educational  leaders  of  the  world. 

From  1457  to  1722,  265  years  is  therefore  the  period  of 
the  Ancient  Church  of  the  Brethren. 

In  1722  the  beginning  of  a  re-organization  and  renewal 
of  the  Church  was  made  by  emigrants  from  the  Province 
of  Moravia  who  cherished  the  old  faith.  These,  with 
others,  mainly  exiles  for  conscience’  sake,  settled  on  the 


6 


estates  of  Count  Zinzendorf  and  founded  the  town  of 
Herrnhut,  in  Saxony.  Under  the  leadership  of  this  noble 
and  pious  Count,  the  Church  was  renewed.  It  received 
the  historic  Episcopate,  and  adopted  the  ancient  principles 
of  government  and  discipline,  but  in  a  somewhat  changed 
and  modified  form,  suited  to  their  new  circumstances.  The 
Lord’s  blessing  rested  upon  them,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
Church  not  only  grew  and  prospered  in  the  land  of  its  re¬ 
newal,  but  extended  its  work  to  other  countries,  and  to 
heathen  lands.  In  England  its  work  spread  in  various 
directions  and  it  numbered  John  Wesley  among  its  con¬ 
verts.  The  origin  of  the  Methodist  Church  is  largely  to 
be  traced  to  the  work  of  the  Moravian  ministry.  Many 
leading  features  of  Methodist  government  and  discipline, 
such  as  the  Presiding  Eldership,  Class  Meetings,  Love- 
Feasts,  and  perhaps  even  the  Episcopacy,  can  easily  be 
traced  to  the  Moravian  original.  It  is  not  doubted,  how¬ 
ever,  that  the  Methodist  Church  has  widely  departed  from 
this,  and  there  has  been  a  distinct  and  varied  development 
in  the  Moravian  Church,  on  the  line  of  its  ancient  princi¬ 
ples,  so  that  to-day  the  difference  between  the  various 
Methodist  Chnrches  and  the  Moravian  Church,  is  perhaps 
greater  than  in  the  days  of  the  two  friends,  Wesley  and 
Zinzendorf,  though  fraternal  relations  continue. 

THB  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA. 

In  1742,  the  Moravian  Church  organized  its  first  perma¬ 
nent  congregation  in  America,  at  Bethlehem,  Pa.  A  pre¬ 
vious  attempt  had  however  been  made  to  establish  a  congre¬ 
gation  in  Georgia.  Since  that  time,  the  American  Church 
has  made  a  history  of  varied  activity  in  many  departments 
of  church  work. 

It  is  impossible  to  follow  the  work  of  the  Church  in  all 
its  branches  during  this  long  period.  It  was  distinguished 
by  three  general  features  :  First,  Missions  to  the  Indians. 
Second,  Missions  of  an  unsectarian  character  in  the  scat¬ 
tered  settlements  and  towns.  Third,  Educational  labors. 

Its  missionary  enterprise  was  particularly  manifest  in  the 
last  century.  Its  Indian  Missions  in  the  Tuscarawas  Valley, 
founded  in  1772,  were  the  first  churches  in  what  is  now 


7 


I 


the  State  of  Ohio,  and  from  them  sprang  the  present 
Moravian  Churches  in  that  valley.  The  missionaries  and 
particularly  the  heroic  men,  Zeisberger  and  Heckewelder, 
were  influential  in  treaties  with  the  Indian  tribes,  and  in 
founding  the  State  in  1803.  The  story  of  Moravian  Indian 
Missions  in  various  sections  of  our  country  is  heroic  and 
romantic.  It  has  formed  the  theme  for  many  writers. 

But  not  only  in  Indian  Missions,  in  Home  Missions  as 
well,  the  Church  did  a  noble  work,  particularly  among  the 
scattered  settlers  of  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  New  Eng¬ 
land,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina  and 
Georgia.  This  work  was  mainly  among  the  Germans,  but 
was  not  confined  to  them.  From  the  very  beginning  there 
were  English-speaking  members  and  churches.  An  earnest 
and  for  a  time  partially  successful  effort  was  made  to  unite 
the  Germans  of  the  Colonies  into  one  church  organization, 
known  as  ^^The  Pennsylvania  Synod.”  This  failed 
through  no  fault  of  the  Moravians.  The  effort  is  worthy 
of  record,  as  being  in  line  with  the  union  character  of  the 
Moravian  Church. 

In  regard  to  educational  efforts  it  is  worthy  of  special 
mention,  that  the  Moravian  Church  established  the  first 
schools  in  the  State  of  Ohio  in  1772,  at  the  Indian  Mis¬ 
sions,  the ’first  Young  Ladies’  Seminary  in  this  country  at 
Bethlehem,  Pa.,  in  1749,  and  the  first  Young  Ladies’  Sem¬ 
inary  in  the  Southern  States,  in  1802,  at  Salem,  North 
Carolina.  Another  Seminary,  Linden  Hall,  was  estab¬ 
lished  at  Lititz,  Pa.,  in  1794.  A  boarding  school  for  boys 
was  established  at  Nazareth  Hall,  Nazareth  Pa.,  in  1785, 
and  the  Moravian  College  and  Theological  Seminary,  now 
at  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  was  established  in  1807.  These  insti¬ 
tutions  have  ever  done  and  are  still  doing  a  grand  educa¬ 
tional  work. 

The  general  history  of  the  Renewed  Church  is  a  history 
largely  of  Foreign  Missions.  The  answer  that  most  people 
would  give  to  the  question  :  ‘^What  is  the  distinguishing 
feature  of  the  Moravian  Church?”  is  that  it  is  a  mission¬ 
ary  church.  The  Church  is  indeed  a  pioneer  in  missionary 
work,  and  its  missions,  widely  scattered  over  the  earth, 
attest  the  Christian  love  and  zeal  of  the  Brethren.  It  is  the 


8 


only  Church  whose  membership  in  the  foreign  field  greatly 
outnumbers  the  membership  at  home.  But  there  are  many 
other  praiseworthy  features  of  the  Church,  often  overlooked, 
which  any  careful  student  can  see.  If  the  Church  had  not 
had  great  elements  of  strength  at  home,  it  could  not  do 
such  a  great  work  abroad.  Nor  have  we  been  lacking  in 
Home  Mission  activity,  particularly  in  recent  years. 

Leaving  now  our  history,  with  this  short  and  imperfect 
sketch,  I  invite  your  attention  to  some  of  those  leading 
features  of  the  Church,  that  have  enabled  it  to  be  a  power 
for  good  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

DOCTRINE. 

WHAT  DO  MORAVIANS  BELIEVE? 

We  believe  the  Bible.  ‘‘The  Bible,  or  the  Holy  Scrip¬ 
tures,  is  our  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice.”  Yet  we  do 
not  reject  whatever  light  honest  research  and  sound  learn¬ 
ing  may  throw  upon  the  sacred  writings. 

We  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of 
sinners. 

We  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  and 
of  sanctification  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

We  believe  in  the  Christian  Church ;  the  Church  Uni¬ 
versal,  the  children  of  God  united  together  in  Christ  in  one 
spirit.  We  do  not  hold  that  we  are  the  only  true  Churchy 
that  we  are  right  and  the  other  churches  necessarily  wrong, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  we  believe  that  the  Moravian  Church 
is  only  a  branch  of  the  Church  Universal. 

We  have  always  believed  in  fraternal  relations  with 
Christians  of  every  name,  and  with  all  branches  of  the 
Christian  Church.  We  do  not  believe  in  partisan  and  sec¬ 
tarian  strife,  but  seek  peace  and  pursue  it ;  yet  we  maintain 
and  defend  our  doctrines  and  principles. 

We  do  not  believe  in  planting  churches  where  a  sufficient 
number  of  other  evangelical  churches  already  exist. 

We  believe  in  conversion,  or  regeneration,  but  do  not 
believe  that  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  confined  to 
any  one  method.  Usually  we  prefer  quiet  and  thorough 
methods  of  Christian  work. 


9 


We  accept  the  Apostles’  Creed,  so-called,  but  beyond 
that  have  no  formal  creed  by  which  the  faith  of  our  mem¬ 
bership  is  tested,  other  than  by  God’s  Word.  Yet  other 
creeds  are  recognized  as  containing  scriptural  truth,  but 
are  never  made  tests  of  faith.  Doctrines  generally  re¬ 
ceived  among  us  may  be  found  in  the  results  of  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Synod  and  in  our  Liturgies,  Litanies,  hymns  and  cate¬ 
chisms. 

We  believe  in  Christian  liberty  as  essential  to  Christian 
unity.  Our  ancient  motto  is  that  at  the  head  of  this 
pamphlet — In  essentials  unity,  in  non-essentials  liberty, 
in  all  things  charity.”  We  do  not  demand  that  Christian 
unity  should  be  brought  about  on  the  basis  of  the  doc¬ 
trines  and  principles  of  the  Moravian  Church,  but  rather 
recognize  the  One  Spirit  operating  by  diversity  of  methods 
in  all  churches. 

We  do  not  believe  in  exalting  minor  questions  into  vital 
differences.  Calvin,  Arminius,  Luther,  Zwingli  and 
Wesley,  might,  as  far  as  doctrine  is  concerned,  have  all 
been  members  of  the  Moravian  Church,  if  they  would 
have  had  charity  enough  to  enter  into  fraternal  relations 
with  Christians  of  diverse  views.  We  do  not  define  with 
authority  those  things  which  the  Scriptures  do  not  define 
and  decide.  All  doctrinal  disputes  are  avoided,  as  far  as 
possible,  and  particularly  those  in  regard  to  the  Holy  Com¬ 
munion.  The  Moravian  view  is  that  this  is  a  divine  mystery, 
not  to  be  doctrinally  defined,  except  in  the  language  of 
Scripture;  but  any  other  Protestant  view  is  permissible. 
As  a  result  in  part  of  this  Christian  liberty,  there  has  never 
been  a  division  or  schism  in  the  Church  in  all  the  centuries 
of  its  existence,  ever  since  1457,  it  has  remained  a  Unity, 
one  Church  throughout  the  world.  Trials  for  heresy  have 
been  almost  unknown,  and  yet  the  doctrines  of  the  Church 
have  remained  pure  and  evangelical,  even  according  to  the 
standards  of  other  churches.  We  have  not  been  moved  by 
every  wind  of  doctrine ;  but,  partly  because  of  our  liberty 
in  non-essentials,  we  have  been  enabled  to  present  the 
great  leading  truths  of  Christianity  with  force  and  power, 
and  at  the  same  time  proclaim  the  Gospel  in  its  fullness, 
declaring  the  whole  counsel  of  God.  These  views  of 


lO 


Christian  truth,  moreover,  have  not  been  adopted  in 
recent  times,  when  they  are  becoming  popular,  but  were 
always  held  by  us,  even  when  they  were  unpopular. 

DISCIPIylN]^. 

While  there  is  wide  liberty  in  doctrine,  in  practical  reli¬ 
gion  we  require  a  high  standard  of  Christian  living.  We 
abhor  a  dead  faith.  A  Christian  should  bear  in  his  daily 
life  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness ;  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit  should  be  manifest.  A  sinful,  or  an  immoral  life  is 
proof  positive  that  a  man  is  not  a  true  Christian,  however 
correct  his  creed  may  be.  Hence  the  standard  of  Church 
discipline  is  high.  This  is  not  always  maintained  in  its 
purity,  but  the  effort  is  constantly  made  to  maintain  it. 
Moreover,  we  regard  discipline  not  only  as  exercised  in  the 
reproof,  correction,  suspension  or  exclusion  of  members, 
but  also  in  the  training  and  education  of  souls  in  the 
Christian  life. 

m:^mb:^rship. 

Accordingly  we  are  careful  in  the  reception  of  members, 
to  accept  only  such  who  can  not  only  take  the  vows  of  the 
Church  upon  them,  but  also  give  evidence  of  a  living  faith 
in  Christ  their  Saviour.  Every  name  is  proposed  first  to 
the  Elders  before  a  public  reception  into  the  Church.  We 
receive  members  of  other  churches  by  letter,  or  if  this  can 
not  be  given,  by  profession  of  faith.  We  receive  others 
by  adult  baptism,  or  by  confirmation,  after  a  course  of  in¬ 
struction  in  the  leading  doctrines  of  Christianity,  sufficient 
to  satisfy  the  pastor  and  elders  that  the  candidate  fully 
understands  the  vows  of  the  Church  and  the  duties  of 
membership.  The  pastor  always  seeks  to  lead  those  whom 
he  instructs  to  a  living  faith  in  Christ,  if  they  do  not 
already  possess  it.  In  addition  to  this,  special  Gospel 
services,  in  which  the  Gospel  is  pressed  home  to  the 
hearts  of  the  people  are  often  held,  after  the  manner  of 
other  churches,  but  no  special  or  invariable  method  is  used. 

EDUCATION. 

While  some  liberty  is  allowed  as  to  forms  of  baptism,  as 
a  rule  we  believe  that  it  is  the  duty  of  Christian  parents  to 


it 


present  their  children  to  the  Lord  in  Holy  Baptism,  and  to 
bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord. 
The  children  of  church  members  are  regarded  as  the  children 
of  the  church,  and  are  enrolled  in  the  church-books.  They 
are  not,  however,  communicant  members  until  they  volun¬ 
tarily  unite  with  the  church,  by  confirming  their  baptismal 
covenant.  Special  services  are  held  for  them  in  addition 
to  the  Sunday-school.  Children’s  Day  has  been  main¬ 
tained  in  the  Church  ever  since  the  year  1727.  It  is 
usually  observed  on  the  Sunday  nearest  the  1 7th  of  August, 
to  commemorate  a  great  revival  among  the  children  on  the 
first  children’s  day;  but  in  some  congregations,  since  other 
Churches  have  adopted  the  custom,  we  celebrate  it  in  June. 
These  are  not  the  only  services  held  for  the  children,  but 
other  seasons,  such  as  Christmas  and  Advent,  are  occa¬ 
sions  for  special  children’s  services.  Thus  the  Church 
seeks  to  train  the  children  for  Christ.  But  the  beginning 
of  our  Christian  education  is  in  the  home.  We  seek  to 
strongly  impress  upon  all  parents  their  duty  to  make  the 
home  Christian,  and  to  begin  every  day  with  reading 
of  the  Scriptures  and  prayer.  The  children  are  not  left 
to  grow  up  with  the  hope  that  some  day,  in  some  great  re¬ 
vival,  they  will  be  converted,  but  from  their  infancy  it  is 
the  duty  of  the  parents  to  lead  them  to  a  living  faith  in 
Christ,  as  their  personal  Saviour.  The  home  training  of 
children,  in  the  spirit  of  Christian  love,  has  always  been 
regarded  as  an  important  part  of  the  discipline  and  educa¬ 
tion  of  the  Church.  No  Moravian  parents  are  doing  their 
duty  who  neglect  it. 

In  addition  to  the  education  of  the  home  the  church 
services  and  the  Sunday-school,  we  believe  in  good 
schools.  Ignorance  is  no  part  of  Christianity.  We  are 
children  of  light  and  not  of  darkness.  We  are  called 
unto  knowledge.  While  knowledge  in  general  is  never 
made  a  test  of  membership,  and  the  souls  of  the  ignorant 
are  precious  as  well  as  those  of  the  learned,  yet  we  be¬ 
lieve  it  to  be  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  see  that  her 
children  should  receive  the  best  possible  education.  To 
this  end,  in  a  few  churches  that  can  afford  the  expense, 
parochial  schools  of  a  high  grade  are  maintained.  (The 


12 


majority  of  our  churches  in  this  country,  however,  utilize 
the  public  schools;  but  we  seek  to  aid  in  preserving  in 
them  a  high  standard  of  education.)  In  addition  to  these, 
we  have  a  number  of  schools,  seminaries  and  colleges,  in 
this  and  other  countries,  for  boys  and  girls,  young  men  and 
young  women.  These  are  largely  patronized,  not  only  by 
our  own  members,  but  by  pupils  from  all  Churches,  and 
from  all  parts  of  the  world.  In  these  schools  we  seek  to 
maintain,  as  nearly  as  possible,  the  discipline  of  home  life, 
and  to  extend  to  the  pupils  individual  care.  The  Christian 
spirit  pervades  these  institutions.  We  seek  to  do  thorough 
rather  than  brilliant  work,  to  educate  the  heart  as  well  as 
the  brain,  and  to  prepare  our  youth  for  a  practical  partici¬ 
pation  in  the  duties  of  life.  The  educational  influence  of 
the  Church  has  been  felt  in  a  very  much  wider  circle  than 
its  membership. 

gov:ernment. 

The  government  of  the  Moravian  Church  is  of  a  long 
established  and  historic  character,  well  worthy  of  study. 
It  is  somewhat  complex  in  its  nature,  yet  simple  in  its  gen¬ 
eral  features.  There  are  several  general  principles  which 
will  aid  us  in  understanding  it. 

We  recognize  no  other  head  to  the  Church  than  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  the  source  of  all  authority.  We 
believe  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  governs  the  Church 
through  His  Word,  or  the  Holy  Scriptures;  through  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  by  Divine  Providence,  as 
manifested  by  the  various  circumstances  and  conditions  in 
which  we  are  placed ;  and  by  the  laws  and  principles  of 
church  government  established  by  the  Church  Universal, 
and  the  Moravian  Church  in  particular,  through  the  wis¬ 
dom  and  experience  of  the  ages. 

The  government  is  after  its  own  kind,  but  for  purposes 
of  comparison  it  may  be  said  to  be  representative  and 
presbyterial  in  form,  rather  than  episcopal.  Though  our 
Bishops  have  a  definite  office,  the  episcopacy  is  a  spiritual 
office,  and  is  to  be  viewed  rather  as  an  ancient  order  in  the 
ministry  than  an  office  of  Church  government. 

Another  feature  of  the  government  is,  that  it  is  confer- 


13 


etitial.  There  is  no  one-man  power  anywhere  in  our  gov¬ 
ernment.  Two  or  three  must  agree  in  all  questions  of  im¬ 
portance.  Even  a  pastor  is  not  independent,  but  in  addi¬ 
tion  to  obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  Synod  he  must  consult 
the  Board  of  Elders  and  Trustees. 

Another  principle  is  that  of  fraternity,  or  brotherhood. 
At  the  foundation  of  all  our  churches  is  a  ‘^Brotherly 
Agreement”  between  the  members.  Even  a  Bishop,  in 
relation  to  other  members,  is  simply  a  brother.  Although 
there  is  authority  by  virtue  of  office,  apart  from  the  office 
we  are  simply  brethren,  on  an  equality  of  fraternal  rela¬ 
tions  and  privileges.  A  Moravian  is  recognized  as  a  brother 
in  all  our  churches  everywhere. 

SYNODS  AND  CONFi^RieNCi^S. 

Turning  now  from  principles  to  institutions,  we  may  say 
that  the  highest  governmental  body  in  the  Church  is  the 
General  Synod,  constituted  mainly  of  delegates  elected  by 
the  Provincial  Synods,  and  representing  the  Church 
throughout  the  world.  The  next  in  authority  are  the  Pro¬ 
vincial  Synods.  These  are  composed  of  the  active  ministry 
and  the  representatives  elected  by  the  congregations  in  one 
or  other  of  the  countries  or  States  constituting  a  Province 
of  the  Church.  The  next  in  authority  are  District  Synods, 
constituted  to  act  for  various  districts  into  which  the  Ameri¬ 
can  Province  is  divided.  Each  of  these  bodies  has  execu¬ 
tive  boards. 

The  General  Synod  elects  a  Unity’s  Elders’  Conference, 
which  has  general  charge  of  the  affairs  under  the  direction 
of  the  General  Synod,  directs  the  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Church,  and  forms  the  highest  board  of  appeal  throughout 
the  Unity. 

The  Provincial  Synods  each  elect  a  Provincial  Elders’ 
Conference,  which  has  charge  especially  of  the  spiritual 
affairs  of  the  Province,  receives,  appoints  and  dismisses 
ministers,  and  superintends  and  controls  Provincial  affairs, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Synod.  They  have  the  duty  of 
adjusting  differences  and  disputes  in  the  congregations 
when  their  assistance  is  called  for,  and  they  form  the  highest 
board  of  appeal  in  the  Province.  In  addition  to  the  Pro- 


H 


vincial  Elders  there  are  other  executive  boards,  such  as 
the  Board  of  Church  Extension,  the  boards  of  trustees  of 
educational  institutions  and  of  church  funds. 

The  District  Synods  have  no  Elders’  Conferences,  but 
may  constitute  such  offices  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry 
out  their  acts,  in  strict  subordination  to  Moravian  principles 
and  Provincial  and  general  legislation. 

CONGRi^GATIONAIV  GOV:RRNM]eNT. 

The  government  of  the  congregation'  is  vested  in  the 
congregation  itself.  While  the  congregation  as  a  local 
church  is  subject  to  the  general  laws  of  the  Synods,  to  the 
fraternal  oversight  of  the  elders,  and  the  care  of  the  pastors, 
yet  the  administration  of  its  government  is  solely  through 
its  own  officers.  The  chief  authority  in  a  congregation  is 
vested  in  the  Congregation  Council.  This  consists  often  of 
the  entire  communicant  membership,  but  sometimes  of  the 
brethren  only  who  have  reached  the  age  of  21,  as  the  con¬ 
gregation  itself  may  decide.  The  government  of  the  con¬ 
gregation  is  administered  by  the  pastor,  associated  with  a 
Board  of  Elders,  who  receive  members,  administer  disci¬ 
pline,  and  have  general  direction  of  its  spiritual  affairs. 
The  financial  affairs  of  the  church  are  managed  by  a  Board 
of  Trustees.  Other  offices  are  constituted  as  needed. 

The  self-government  of  the  individual,  according  to  the 
law  of  Christ,  and  the  doctrine  of  God’s  Word,  is  presup¬ 
posed  ;  but,  as  an  organized  body,  the  Church  Council  is 
the  fountain  of  governmental  authority,  as  truly  as  the 
town  meeting  is  of  the  government  of  the  United  States. 
This  is  true  even  though  the  ministry,  by  virtue  of  office, 
have  some  special  privileges.  Yet  above  all  conferences, 
synods,  or  councils,  the  authority  of  God’s  Word  is  recog¬ 
nized.  The  chief  question  is  not.  What  is  the  will  of  the 
majority  ?  but  What  is  the  will  of  the  Divine  Head  of  the 
Church,  even  Christ  ?  The  will  of  the  majority  rules,  it  is 
true,  but  only  because  it  is  the  conscientious  expression  of 
what  the  majority  decides  to  be  right  and  well-pleasing  in 
the  sight  of  God.  This  constant  recognition  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  our  Saviour  has  always  been  a  leading  feature 
of  Moravian  government  and  discipline. 


15 


CONSTITUTIONAi;  IVIMITATIONS. 

It  must  be  observed  moreover  that  the  duties  and  privi¬ 
leges  of  these  various  governmental  bodies  are  limited  and 
definite.  None  are  absolute,  except  in  their  own  province. 
Even  the  General  Synod  cannot  overthrow  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  a  Province  or  a  congregation.  The  govern¬ 
ment  is  well  balanced,  and  long  established.  It  is  admin¬ 
istered  in  the  spirit  of  brotherly  love,  and  allowing,  as  it 
does,  a  very  large  degree  of  Christian  liberty  it  has  long 
been  marked  with  comparative  little  friction,  and  with 
manifold  blessing  to  all  the  churches. 

ADVANTAGES. 

Through  its  systematic  working  the  unity  of  the  Church 
has  been  maintained  for  more  than  four  centuries.  Large 
enterprises  have  been  carried  on  by  the  united  efforts 
of  the  various  Provinces,  or  by  the  whole  Church.  Our 
extensive  Foreign  Missions  have  been  conducted  successfully 
in  this  manner,  by  the  Unity’s  Elders’  Conference.  We 
believe  that  the  principles  of  our  government  are  scrip¬ 
tural.  Yet  the  progressive  character  of  Christian  govern¬ 
ment  is  recognized,  and  the  development  and  application 
of  the  principles  of  the  kingdom  of  God  on  earth  is  sought 
rather  than  a  mere  copying  of  the  institutions  of  the  Church 
in  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  Many  of  these  principles 
appear  in  other  Churches  also,  particularly  in  the  Meth¬ 
odist,  and  in  some  respects  in  the  Presbyterian  Churches. 
The  Moravian  government  and  discipline,  however,  being 
perhaps  the  oldest,  is  modeled  after  no  other. 

APPOINTMENTS. 

The  system  of  appointments  differs  from  all,  or  nearly 
all  others.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  Provincial  Elders  to  see 
that  every  church  is  supplied  with  a  pastor,  and  every  min¬ 
ister,  as  far  as  possible,  with  a  field  of  labor.  In  case  a 
pastor  desires  a  change  he  requests  the  Elders  to  call  him 
elsewhere.  If  the  congregation  desires  a  change,  through 
their  elders  they  may  notify  the  Provincial  Elders  to  this 
effect.  In  either  case,  if  they  deem  it  advisable  the  pastor 
is  called  to  another  field  of  labor;  or  they  may  call  him. 


i6 


if  in  their  judgment  a  change  is  desirable,  without  any  re¬ 
quest  being  made.  In  any  case,  where  a  vacancy  occurs, 
the  Provincial  Elders  proceed  to  nominate  a  minister,  who 
in  their  judgment  is  available  and  a  suitable  man  for  the 
place.  The  elders,  and  in  some  cases  the  trustees  also 
of  the  congregation,  have  the  privilege  of  rejecting  the 
nominee.  Yet  this  should  never  be  done  unless  good  and 
sufficient  reasons  exist  for  such  action,  since  otherwise  in¬ 
justice  is  done  to  worthy  men,  and  the  Elders’  Conference, 
in  whom  the  duty  and  responsibility  of  appointment  is 
vested  are  embarrassed  in  their  work  by  an  unreasonable 
use  of  the  veto  power  of  the  congregations.  In  case  the 
congregation  accepts  the  nominee  the  call  goes  to  the  min¬ 
ister,  who  may  decline  the  call.  In  this  case  another  will 
be  nominated  in  like  manner.  If  accepted,  the  appoint¬ 
ment  is  made  for  an  indefinite  period,  as  there  is  no  time 
limit,  and  comparatively  long  pastorates  are  common. 
This  general  system  is  sometimes  varied  at  the  discretion  of 
the  Provincial  Elders,  by  first  mentioning  a  possible  ap¬ 
pointment  to  the  minister.  In  the  appointments  to  home 
missions,  to  foreign  missions,  or  positions  in  educational 
institutions  this  general  system  is  modified.  This  system, 
imperfectly  sketched,  has  many  advantages.  No  minister 
is  required  to  ‘‘candidate”  before  the  churches  and  preach 
trial  sermons.  No  minister  is  sent  to  a  place  without  his 
consent.  No  congregation  has  forced  upon  them  an  ob¬ 
jectionable  pastor.  Congregations  are  not  imposed  upon 
by  frauds.  The  congregation  has  the  advantage  of  the 
experience  of  Provincial  Elders,  who  are  acquainted  with 
the  ministry  and  the  congregations,  in  selecting  a  pastor, 
and  the  Church  in  general  has  the  advantage  of  the  best 
possible  appointment  of  its  ministry  for  effective  work. 
No  church  that  can  provide  an  adequate  salary  is  long 
without  a  pastor,  and  usually  all  ministers  are  supplied  with 
situations  if  they  are  worthy.  Ministerial  ability  is  not 
measured  by  the  amount  of  the  salary.  We  have  no 
“thousand  dollar  men”  and  “five  hundred  dollar  men”  in 
the  Church,  but  every  man  is  called  where  he  will  be  the 
most  useful,  as  a  rule.  Yet  a  minister’s  ability  and  cir¬ 
cumstances  are  always  considered. 


ADAPTATION. 


Another  point  worthy  of  attention  is  that  the  government 
of  the  church  is  capable  of  adjustment  to  varying  conditions 
and  sentiments.  The  general  principles  are  the  same  every¬ 
where,  but  the  administration  of  the  government  varies 
considerably  in  different  lands,  and  even  in  the  different 
congregations  of  the  same  Province.  Uniformity  in  some 
things  is  sought,  but  not  by  compulsion.  In  other  things 
the  church  is  permitted  to  adjust  its  government  on  the 
line  of  Moravian  principles  to  the  national,  political,  social 
and  spiritual  conditions  with  which  it  must  deal.  It  is 
thus  pre-eminently  universal  in  its  character,  finding  an  en¬ 
trance  into  many  lands  and  calling  into  use  many  lan¬ 
guages.  It  is  a  common  mistake  to  view  the  Moravian  as 
a  distinctively  German  Church.  In  this  country  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  our  membership  speak  the  English  language. 
There  are  more  Moravian  churches  in  England  than  in 
Germany,  though  the  membership  is  not  so  large,  and  a 
greater  work  is  done  in  Germany.  In  the  home  churches 
more  Moravian  members  use  the  English  than  the  Ger¬ 
man  language.  We  owe  very  much  to  the  Germans,  but 
the  Church  never  was  national  in  character,  but  always- had 
a  universal  spirit  suited  to  Christian  work  in  all  nations. 

WORSHIP. 

Our  forms  are  rich  and  varied.  They  are  nearly  as  com¬ 
plete  as  those  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  but  are  entirely 
independent,  and  in  no  way  based  upon  the  services  of 
that  excellent  Church.  Our  hymns  are  excellent  and  are 
used  in  other  Churches,  particularly  those  of  the  well- 
known  Moravian  poets,  James  Montgomery,  John  Cennick 
and  Count  Zinzendorf.  Our  liturgical  forms  are  well  suited 
to  fulfill  their  purpose  of  giving  the  whole  people  an  op¬ 
portunity  to  take  part  in  an  orderly  but  hearty  manner  in 
the  services  of  the  sanctuary. 

They  are  in  use,  however,  mainly  on  special  occasions 
and  in  the  regular  Sunday  morning  service.  At  other  ser¬ 
vices,  such  as  the  Sunday  evening  service  and  prayer-meet¬ 
ing,  we  usually  have  no  litanies  or  liturgies. 


i8 


Our  forms  of  worship  differ  greatly,  however,  in  different 
countries,  and  even  in  different  congregations.  In  this 
country  our  hymns  are  used  in  all  the  churches,  but  the 
use  of  the  liturgies  and  litanies  is  not  universal.  In  some 
churches  the  entire  liturgy  is  used  in  its  appropriate  seasons, 
in  others  parts  of  it,  in  a  few  churches  the  litanies  are  used 
but  seldom,  if  at  all.  Every  Province,  moreover,  has  its 
own  liturgies  and  hymns.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  there 
is  no  complete  uniformity.  A  greater  degree  of  uniformity 
is  taught  by  many,  but  it  has  never  been  regarded  as  neces¬ 
sary  to  unity,  and  the  compulsory  use  of  forms  of  worship 
has  always  been  considered  as  opposed  to  that  liberty  in 
non-essentials,  which  has  been  one  of  the  distinguishing 
features  of  the  Church  in  all  its  history,  and  has  enabled  it  to 
adapt  itself  to  varying  conditions  and  sentiments.  Usually 
our  worship  is  plain  in  its  forms  and  of  a  popular  nature. 

The  main  burden  of  our  preaching  is  thoroughly  Chris¬ 
tian  and  evangelical.  We  seek  to  edify  as  well  as  convert 
men.  To  this  end,  various  services  are  used  in  addition  to 
the  ordinary  services  of  the  Church.  The  Holy  Com¬ 
munion  is  solemnly  celebrated  from  four  to  eight  times  a 
year.  Love-feasts  are  held,  similar  to  those  held  in  the 
days  of  the  Apostles,  and  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Jude, 
the  twelfth  verse.  The  congregations  are  divided  into 
classes,  according  to  age  and  sex,  and  in  most  congrega¬ 
tions  services  are  held  suitable  to  these  classes.  Young 
People’s  Societies  and  Missionary  Societies  are  found  in 
many  congregations.  There  is  nothing  very  peculiar  and 
nothing  at  all  outlandish,  as  some  have  imagined,  in  the 
■services  of  the  Moravian  Church.  All  things  are  done 
decently  and  in  order.  Good  music  and  congregational 
singing  are  customary.  The  so-called  Moravian  Tunes 
have  been  recognized  by  American  Publishers  and  Editors 
as  excellent,  but  they  are  not  the  only  ones  used,  since 
selections  are  often  made  from  other  collections.  The 
general  character,  moreover,  of  our  services  is  not  somber 
but  joyous.  This  is  particularly  manifested  in  our  Christ¬ 
mas  and  Easter  services.  In  the  Moravian  service  for  the 
burial  of  the  dead,  the  Moravian  view  of  the  Christian 
Life  is  well  illustrated.  The  committal  service  of  most 


churches,  though  proclaiming  immortality  and  the  resurrec¬ 
tion,  contains  as  its  leading  feature  the  sad  words,  ‘‘  Earth 
to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust.”  Instead  of  this  the 
Moravian  service  uses  the  following  verse,  or  a  similar  one: 

“  Now  to  the  earth  let  these  remains 
In  hope  committed  be, 

Until  the  body  changed  attains 
Blest  immortality.” 

This  is  sung  while  the  body  is  being  lowered  into  the 
grave,  thus  giving  us  the  leading  thought  of  the  service, 
not  mortality,  but  immortality ;  not  corruption  and  decay, 
but  a  glorious  resurrection.  None  of  our  services  are,  as 
some  have  ignorantly  imagined,  Roman  Catholic ;  nor  are 
we  in  any  way  connected  with  that  church.  The  Church 
is,  and  always  has  been,  thoroughly  Protestant,  even  before 
Protestantism  was  known  by  that  name. 

AN  INVITATION  TO  BiETTi^R  ACQUAINTANCE. 

The  Church  has  been  recognized  in  fraternal  relations 
by  many  Protestant  Churches.  The  Parliament  of  Eng¬ 
land  acknowledged  us  as  a  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  as 
early  as  1749.  The  Church  has  been  kindly  treated  and 
even  extravagantly  praised  by  many  writers  and  authors  of 
intelligence.  On  the  other  hand  it  has  often  suffered  from 
the  stories  of  writers  who  were  but  partially  acquainted 
with  the  Church,  or  some  congregations  in  it,  who  by  ex¬ 
aggerating  some  features  of  the  church  service,  or  by  in¬ 
accurately  describing  some  custom  that  has  perhaps  passed 
out  of  general  use  for  a  century,  have  given  interesting 
descriptions  of  Moravian  , peculiarities,  sensational  in  char¬ 
acter.  Unfortunately  many  people  have  formed  their 
opinion  of  the  Church  through  such  popular  misrepresen¬ 
tations.  We  have  our  individuality  it  is  true ;  but  we  are 
no  more  peculiar  than  the  larger  churches  of  the  land,  only 
we  are  not  so  well  known.  The  Church  is  well  suited  to 
the  American  people.  It  has  an  American  history  older 
than  our  national  existence.  Its  government  is  of  a  pop¬ 
ular  nature,  similar  in  many  respects  to  our  national  gov¬ 
ernment  It  has  shown  its  ability  to  adapt  itself  to  the 
varied  character  of  our  people.  Even  our  most  peculiar 


20 


services,  such  as  the  love-feasts,  are  popular  where  people 
understand  their  true  nature.  Prejudice,  and  often  excus¬ 
able  ignorance  of  what  we  really  are,  has  been  a  great 
hindrance  to  our  work  in  many  fields  of  labor.  It  is  one. 
object  of  this  pamphlet  to  invite  to  a  better  acquaintance, 
and  to  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Church. 

THB  STRENGTH  OF  THF  CHURCH. 

Numerically  we  outnumber  Gideon’s  band,  but  in  much 
of  our  work  of  faith,  we  have  been  like  Gideon’s  band  in 
winning  victories. 

In  this  country  we  had  in  1893,  90  congregations,. 
12,535  communicant  members,  and  a  total  of  19,497  in 
church  connection,  including  children.  Of  these  47 
churches,  having  a  communicant  membership  of  8,050,  use 
the  English  language  in  their  services.  The  Church  in 
Great  Britain  numbers  40  churches,  with  3,136  communi¬ 
cant  members,  and  a  total  in  church  connection  of  5,660. 
In  Germany,  Holland,  Switzerland  and  Bohemia,  the 
regular  churches  number  6,483  communicants,  and  8,492 
in  total  church  connection.  This  makes  a  total  communi¬ 
cant  membership  including  the  369  Foreign  Missionaries, 
of  22,523,  and  a  total  membership,  including  the  400  mis¬ 
sionaries  and  their  children  in  foreign  lands,  of  34,049. 
These  numbers  however  of  the  home  and  regular  churches- 
are  very  far  from  representing  the  full  numerical  strength. 
There  are  93,246  persons  under  our  care  in  the  Foreign 
Mission  field.  A  large  proportion  of  these  belong  to  indi¬ 
vidual  churches  that  have  in  fact  become  self-supporting, 
particularly  in  the  West  Indies.  Moreover,  there  are,  at  the 
,  lowest  estimate,  70,000  persons  on  the  Continent  of  Europe,, 
who  belong  to  what  is  called  the  “  Diaspora.”  This  is  the 
German  Moravian  Home  Mission  work  carried  on  within 
the  State  Churches  of  Europe,  and  of  Germany  in  particular. 
It  is  an  effort  to  awaken  souls  in  these  churches  to  greater 
spiritual  life,  and  bring  them  into  a  closer  communion  with 
God,  by  services  of  an  evangelistic  nature,  and  by  special 
services  of  prayer  and  praise.  Yet  the  people  attending 
these  services,  and  in  indirect  connection  with  our  Church,, 
retain  their  membership  in  the  State  Churches. 


21 


It  is  a  work  in  harmony  with  other  churches,  and  within 
the  lines  of  other  churches,  that  is  hard  for  us  Americans 
to  understand.  But  it  has  been  accompanied  by  manifold 
blessings.  It  could  only  be  done  by  a  Church  with  broad, 
charitable  and  unsectarian  principles,  such  as  the  Moravian 
Church  possesses.  This  work  has  not  only  been  a  blessing 
to  the  European  churches,  but  has  added  to  our  strength. 
Counting  then  the  Diaspora  and  the  Missions  as  a  part 
of  the  numerical  strength  of  the  Church,  we  find  that  the 
total  number  of  souls  under  the  care  of  the  Moravian 
Church  is  197,295. 

The  Church  has  regular  congregations  in  the  following 
countries :  The  United  States,  England,  Ireland,  Scot¬ 
land,  Wales,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Holland  and  Bohemia. 
In  addition  to  these  a  Diaspora  and  Home  Mission  work  is 
is  conducted  in  Russia,  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark  and 
France.  There  are  churches  in  the  following  States  of  the 
American  Union  :  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Maryland,  North  Carolina,  Virginia,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illi¬ 
nois,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Missouri,  Wisconsin,  Michigan,  Min¬ 
nesota,  and  North  Dakota.  In  Alaska,  there  are  missions 
to  the  Eskimos,  and  in  California,  Kansas,  the  Indian 
Territory  and  Canada,  there  are  missions  to  the  Indians. 
Foreign  Missions  exist  in  the  following  countries.  Green¬ 
land,  Labrador,  Jamaica,  and  the  West  India  Islands,  the 
Mosquito  Coast,  Nicaragua;  Surinam  and  Demerara,  S.  A.; 
the  Cape  Colony,  German  Central  Africa,  Australia  and 
Thibet.  The  Leper  Hospital,  Jerusalem,  Palestine,  is  also 
in  charge  of  Moravian  Missionaries,  and  is  indeed  a  noble 
enterprise. 

WHY  IS  THIS  MORAVIAN  CHURCH  SO  SMAUU? 

This  question  is  often  asked.  One  answer  is,  that  it  is 
not  so  very  small  after  all.  Nearly  200,000  members  and 
adherents  is  not  a  small  number,  especially  when  we  re¬ 
member  that  after  the  long  period  of  persecution,  in  1723 
the  Church  was  almost  extinct.  It  is  only  small  in  com¬ 
parison  with  the  phenomenal  growth  of  some  other 
churches.  Yet  in  comparison  with  what  the  Church  might 
have  been  and  deserves  to  be,  it  is  small.  A  careful  study 


22 


of  our  history  will  alone  explain  this.  But  we  may  briefly 
explain  that  for  nearly  seventy-five  years,  the  Church  made 
no  special  effort  to  increase  the  number  of  its  home  con¬ 
gregations,  but  threw  its  strength  into  Foreign  Missions, 
into  Education,  into  the  Diaspora  work,  and  into  evangeli¬ 
cal  work  in  this  country,  in  which  the  fruits  fell  mainly  to 
other  churches.  Its  influence  and  power  for  good  were 
felt  in  many  directions,  but  the  numerical  increase  at  home 
was  small.  Since  1849,  however,  in  this  country,  this 
policy  has  given  place  to  a  policy  of  church  extension. 
Since  that  date  we  have  more  than  trebled  the  number  of 
churches  and  membership,  and  the  annual  percentage  of 
growth  is  still  large/.  The  Church  is  vigorous  and  grow¬ 
ing.  It  is  safe  to  predict  that  it  will  not  always  remain 
small.  But  the  strength  of  the  Church  must  not  be  mea¬ 
sured  by  numbers  alone.  The  power  of  its  faith,  the 
thoroughness  of  its  work,  and  its  wide  and  enduring  influ¬ 
ence  should  be  considered.  This  Church,  which  many 
consider  small,  has  endured  for  more  than  four  centuries 
of  prosperity  and  adversity.  It  has  sent  forth  a  host  of 
the  heralds  of  the  cross  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen, 
keeping  almost,  if  not  quite,  the  leading  place  in  Foreign 
Missions  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half.  It  has  com¬ 
manded  the  devotion  of  many  heroic  men  and  women  in 
the  most  arduous  and  most  difficult  mission  fields  of  the 
world.  It  has  maintained  such  extensive  Home  Missions 
on  the  Continent  of  Europe  that  its  adherents  outnumber 
the  home  churches  many  times.  It  has  secured  the  devo¬ 
tion  and  adherence  of  many  noble  and  great  men.  Such 
a  Church  must  have  a  largeness  that  is  not  measured  by 
mere  numbers.  There  must  be  and  are  vital  principles 
and  great  truths  at  the  basis  of  this  institution  to  enable  it 
to  endure  such  tests  of  strength  and  power.  The  Mora¬ 
vians  must  not  only  be  a  good  and  pious  people,  as  many 
suppose  us  to  be,  and  we  hope  that  we  are,  but  we  must 
have  some  right  and  true  principles,  or  we  should  have 
perished  as  a  Church  long  ago. 

Nor  is  our  power  felt  only  in  our  membership ;  it  is 
manifested  far  beyond  it.  This  wider  influence  has  been 
felt  for  good  particularly  in  Germany,  where  the  pure 


23 


Gospel  preaching  of  our  ministers,  their  piety,  and  the 
depth  of  their  learning  has  had  a  profound  influence  in 
counteracting  the  tendencies  to  dead  orthodoxy  on  the 
one  hand,  and  rationalism  on  the  other.  We  are  not 
Lutherans,  as  some  have  supposed,  but  our  relations  to  the 
Lutheran  Churches  have  been  in  the  main  cordial  and 
mutually  helpful.  The  influence  of  the  Moravian  life  and 
doctrine  upon  early  Methodism,  in  deepening  its  spiritual 
life  and  forming  its  institutions,  is  acknowledged  by  many 
Methodist  historians.  The  broad  charitable  position  in 
relation  to  all  churches,  which  we  have  always  held,  has 
not  been  without  its  effect  in  aiding  to  bring  about  an  era 
of  better  fraternal  relations,  and  the  cessation  of  sectarian 
strife.  The  unity  of  the  Church  at  all  times  amid  needful 
diversity,  has  demonstrated  that  it  is  possible  to  maintain 
a  Christian  Church,  upon  a  broad  and  liberal  basis  of  evan¬ 
gelical  Christianity.  The  scholarship  of  the  Church, 
which  has  always  aimed  at  thoroughness  and  depth,  has 
contributed  much  to  the  learning,  science,  art  and  litera¬ 
ture  of  the  world.  Our  light,  though  small  in  comparison 
with  some,  has  been  a  bright  one,  and  it  has  not  been 
hidden. 


AN  APPi^AL. 

This  Church  of  the  Brethren,  thoroughly  protestant, 
fraternal  in  character,  pure  in  its  discipline,  evangelical, 
charitable  and  unsectarian,  is  a  Church  in  which  Christian 
people  of  various  views  and  differing  opinions  can  unite 
on  one  creed  of  Christ  crucified,  as  the  Saviour  of  sinners, 
and  on  “'the  foundation  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  Himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone.”  Mo¬ 
ravian  ministers  need  imt  preach  our  creed,  the  doctrines 
of  our  eminent  men,^S^the  peculiar  features  of  our  doc¬ 
trine,  government  or  ^discipline,  but  it  is  their  duty  to 
preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  its  completeness  and 
power,  as  they  find  it  in  the  Holy  Scripture,  and  with  per¬ 
fect  liberty. 

If  any  who  read  this  pamphlet  are  members  of  other 
Christian  Churches,  we  wish  you  prosperity  and  joy  in  your 
faith.  We  do  not  proselyte,  but  rather  would  urge  you  to- 


24 


faithfulness  to  Christ  in  your  own  church.  Yet  we  hope 
to  have  your  favorable  opinion  and  fraternal  regard.  You 
will  always  be  welcome  to  any  of  our  services.  But  if  any 
of  you  are  so  situated  that  you  cannot  attend  the  worship 
of  your  own  church,  or  if  any  are  seeking  a  church  home, 
or  are  not  members  of  any  church,  we  invite  you  to  come 
with  us  and  we  will  do  you  good.  If  you  cannot  join  the 
church  at  once,  we  invite  you  to  become  acquainted  with 
it  by  attending  our  services.  Strangers  are  always  wel¬ 
come,  the  pews  are  always  free,  and  our  pastors  and  people 
will  be  glad  to  see  you.  If  the  church  nearest  your  resi¬ 
dence  happens  to  be  a  small  church,  weak  and  struggling 
with  difficulties,  do  not  judge  the  whole  Church  by  it, 
for  we  have  many  strong  congregations,  but  rather,  if  you 
can,  give  a  hand  to  help  make  it  strong.  It  deserves  your 
encouragement.  It  needs  your  help.  And  if  the  church 
happens  to  be  the  only  one  in  your  neighborhood,  working 
for  the  good  of  the  community  in  which  you  live,  can  you 
not  lay  aside  your  denominational  preferences  and  join  in 
a  union  effort  on  the  broad  platform  of  Moravian  doctrines 
and  principles?  If  that  particular  congregation  is  not  all 
that  it  ought  to  be  according  to  your  judgment,  there  is  a 
good  opportunity,  if  your  heart  is  right  toward  God,  to 
help  to  make  it  a  living  Church  of  Christ. 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  to  say  that  I  have  endeavored 
to  present  the  Church  in  a  favorable  light,  as  its  character 
demands,  and  as  one  that  loves  it  should.  Others  have 
found  some  fault  with  it,  sometimes  justly  perhaps,  often  I 
think  unjustly.  The  Church  is  not  perfect,  and  I  am  not 
blind  to  its  imperfections,  but  I  prefer  to  let  others  point 
them  out,  or  use  my  influence,  whatever  it  may  be,  at  the 
proper  time  and  place  to  effect  improvement.  For  myself 
I  love  the  Church,  its  sound  principles  and  depth,  its  quiet 
ways  and  earnest  spirit,  its  Christian  love  and  zeal,  its  fel¬ 
lowship,  its  charity,  its  solemn  and  joyous  services. 

We  earnestly  hope  that  this  short  treatise  will  lead  to  still 
greater  loyalty  on  the  part  of  its  membership,  to  a  better 
acquaintance  on  the  part  of  many,  and  that  many  more 
will  choose  the  Moravian  Church  as  their  church  home. 


■  V 


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author,  or  from  The  Moravian  Publication  Concern, 
Bethlehem,  Pa. 

Price;  Single  Copies  lo  cents;  for  quantities  special 


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